(the UK's Unix & Open Systems User Group)

Home

Events

About UKUUG

UKUUG Diary

Membership

Book Discounts

Other Discounts

Mailing lists

Sponsors

Newsletter

Consulting

Introduction to Neogeography Andrew Turner Published by O'Reilly Media (Short Cut) ISBN:0-596-52995-3 54 pages £ $ 7.99 Published: 15th December 2006 reviewed by Mike Smith    in the June 2007 issue (pdf), (html)

This is an O'Reilly ``Short Cut'', which is a new type of book from O'Reilly (new to me, anyway). Short Cuts take the form of a white paper or essay on a subject -- this one is 54 pages long.

Whilst this review was conducted using a paper copy the Short Cuts are generally available for purchase and download as a pdf from the O'Reilly website. This one is about eight dollars. So with the exchange rate as it is at the moment, it won't break the bank.

So onto the review itself. Neogeography (which apparently means ``New Geography'') covers the subject and tools of mapping and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) that are increasingly being used by the end user on the web to enable them to create their own maps and map-based systems. Google maps and mash ups spring to mind. This is in contrast to some of the more traditional GISs such as products available from the likes of ESRI that I have come across in a few places.

This Short Cut provides an overview of neogeography tools, frameworks and information resources. There is also a companion website on which some examples discussed in the Short Cut are provided.

As you will appreciate given the length of the Short Cut, the information is succinct, getting straight to the point. It's really good for a quick introduction to the subject; what's going on at the moment; tools that are available; some information on APIs and examples.

Just a rapid summary of some of the topics: GPX, GeoRSS, KML, Easygps, Google Earth, Geocoding, Geolocation, Platial, Ning, Mapstraction, OpenLayers, OpenStreetMap, GeoStack, Picasa, Flickr.

From this example, I think these Short Cuts are great ... it's a cheap way of learning about a new subject. However as these are only a soft copy I'm not sure how popular you'll find them as you may be able to find out what you need with a Google search. It's not like owning a physical book, which is part of the O'Reilly attraction for me.

Back to reviews list

(the UK's Unix & Open Systems User Group)

Home

Events

About UKUUG

UKUUG Diary

Membership

Book Discounts

Other Discounts

Mailing lists

Sponsors

Newsletter

Consulting

Introduction to Neogeography Andrew Turner Published by O'Reilly Media (Short Cut) ISBN:0-596-52995-3 54 pages £ $ 7.99 Published: 15th December 2006 reviewed by Mike Smith    in the June 2007 issue (pdf), (html)

This is an O'Reilly ``Short Cut'', which is a new type of book from O'Reilly (new to me, anyway). Short Cuts take the form of a white paper or essay on a subject -- this one is 54 pages long.

Whilst this review was conducted using a paper copy the Short Cuts are generally available for purchase and download as a pdf from the O'Reilly website. This one is about eight dollars. So with the exchange rate as it is at the moment, it won't break the bank.

So onto the review itself. Neogeography (which apparently means ``New Geography'') covers the subject and tools of mapping and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) that are increasingly being used by the end user on the web to enable them to create their own maps and map-based systems. Google maps and mash ups spring to mind. This is in contrast to some of the more traditional GISs such as products available from the likes of ESRI that I have come across in a few places.

This Short Cut provides an overview of neogeography tools, frameworks and information resources. There is also a companion website on which some examples discussed in the Short Cut are provided.

As you will appreciate given the length of the Short Cut, the information is succinct, getting straight to the point. It's really good for a quick introduction to the subject; what's going on at the moment; tools that are available; some information on APIs and examples.

Just a rapid summary of some of the topics: GPX, GeoRSS, KML, Easygps, Google Earth, Geocoding, Geolocation, Platial, Ning, Mapstraction, OpenLayers, OpenStreetMap, GeoStack, Picasa, Flickr.

From this example, I think these Short Cuts are great ... it's a cheap way of learning about a new subject. However as these are only a soft copy I'm not sure how popular you'll find them as you may be able to find out what you need with a Google search. It's not like owning a physical book, which is part of the O'Reilly attraction for me.

Back to reviews list